You should probably know that I'm pretty big on efficiency. I value punctuality, and ways to get a job done excellently with as little time or effort expended as possible. Also, I really dislike Wal-Mart. But, I am regularly tweaking my routines to ensure I'm being efficient with both our time and resources. So that brings me to my new grocery shopping plan. Maybe it'll inspire you?
I typically like to shop at Aldi for groceries, and I've been into a Lidl once so maybe I'll try that sometime. But we live 45 minutes from the nearest Aldi or Lidl. If I'm not already heading to "the city" it's kind of a long drive to save a bit of money. I'll give you some insight as to my old way of doing things and what I'm wanting to change.
Old: order personal and household items from grove.co, because they're all natural (fancy all natural, not hippy all natural)
New: purchase personal and household items when I'm at the grocery store, and buy the best quality, best ingredients I can afford. Over the summer, I'm shopping at Wal-Mart because it's cheap and close. They should have a decent selection of natural products. When my Bible study starts up in the fall, I'll be heading to the city once a week, and will probably switch back to Aldi or Lidl then. I know Aldi doesn't have a great selection of personal products, but it will eliminate decision fatigue. Or I'll head to Wal-Mart while baby is at his piano lesson.
Old: buy grass-fed/organic meat from Aldi, as much as I can afford. Which is not much.
New: nail down when the Food Lion around the corner from my house marks down meat. I think it's Fridays - we went last week and hit the jackpot! Spend my allotted meat amount there, prioritizing grass-fed/organic, but not stressing over it. Both my boys are big meat eaters and we've been craving variety lately.
Old: buy organic produce if we eat the outside (berries, mushrooms, etc), or conventional if we don't (bananas, pineapples, etc). As much as possible.
New: nothing changes here. That's still my general rule of thumb, and is how I'm able to afford as much organic produce as possible.
Old: Buy everything else at Aldi. Stick to a fairly set grocery list every time, the same things. That keeps the pantry stocked and I know a handful of meals I can put together without recipes.
New: start shopping loss leaders. I've never done this before! We get a weekly circular in the mail, and my mom (the queen of frugality in her heyday) told me how to find loss leaders. So I'll spend my different grocery category amounts this way first, at the Food Lion around the corner. Then I'll purchase everything else on my main grocery trip.
Old: grocery shop twice a month.
New: naturally, the changes I've already mentioned won't quite allow for this. But my main grocery trips will still be only twice a month.
This post is about to get a lot longer so just stop here if you don't care about actual budget numbers/breakdown.
Ever since our poor newlywed days, I've taken my grocery budget and broken it down by category based on what we eat or need to eat the most of. Because I'm not sure how to explain it well, I'll just share our current actual numbers with you. Keep in mind: we are a family of 3. Jake is a powerlifter so he eats more than average. Baby can eat as much as Jake some days. I'm a woman and therefore am constantly trying to lose weight by eating smaller portions. So I think we eat more like a family of 4 considering how much the boys eat.
$300 overall grocery budget
$30 15 dozen farm-raised eggs
$20 bulk (rice or oatmeal or pasta or beans, just stock up)
$5 as much wheat bread from Wal-Mart's discounted bread section - usually at least 5 bags of some sort of wheat bread
$20 household/personal items
$45 dairy
$72 produce
$70 meat
(the rest is for other random stuff you probably don't care about. baking supplies, fresh flowers, emergency frozen pizza - cheaper than take-out)
You may think that's a high budget, or you may think it's a low one. Don't worry about comparisons unless you think you have room for improvement. Cut out the processed foods and you'll have much more wiggle room than you probably think. I plan to annually increase our budget by around $50/month to account for baby growing, and to keep up with my desire for more organics. But that's an ideal; our budget is always the primary factor, quality a (very close, albeit) second.
Do you have a grocery shopping strategy? Do you update it periodically? How is your grocery budget?
Thursday, May 31, 2018
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
10 ways to elevate the everyday
You learned in my last post how I feel home life should be ever so slightly more formal than what it's become in mainstream USA. But enough about me; how can you elevate the everyday in your life? Here are some ideas:
- Iron your pillowcases. Or go all out and do your whole sheet set - that's a little too much work for me though :)
- Make your bed as soon as you get out of it. Your whole room will look nicer, and it starts your day off productively.
- Always wear at least a little makeup. Unless it's your once-in-a-blue-moon barefaced day. You'll feel better about yourself.
- Always wear real clothes. Unless you are actually, at that moment, doing yoga.
- Use real plates, glasses, cutlery. Use cloth napkins. When I'm really on top of my game, I iron my napkins.
- Eat three meals a day, with very rare snacking. As in, if you are so hungry you can't take it. But for the most part, eat three meals, and let that be all.
- Eat those meals at roughly the same time every day. And make sure they're balanced enough to last you until the next meal.
- Eat sitting down, at the table, with the people you love. NO electronics on at this time (except music playing in the background. We prefer French or Portugese, or Sinatra, something classy dinner party-ish). Use proper table manners and require them of your children - but please don't try to mother your husband! (I'm guilty of this way too often)
- Light candles and/or place essential oil diffusers throughout your home. We have one in baby's room so we can put lavender in it to calm him to sleep; one in the kid/guest bathroom to cut down on unpleasant smells; and three in our open concept living spaces. I use a blend called "peace and quiet" for obvious reasons.
- Adopt a minimal approach to decorating. Now, I don't mean you need to start counting your possessions. But, for example, not every kitchen appliance I own is on the kitchen counter. Very few things are on my surfaces. Most of what is on my walls is highly sentimental (and also happens to be beautiful. Not just random sentimental stuff.). We actually use family heirloom furniture.
Do you have anything to add? How do you elevate the everyday in your own home? Or do you think formality is overrated?
Thursday, May 24, 2018
my philosophy on home life
Let me begin by saying I've read so many books that have influenced how I view my home, and my role at home, and someday I'll share them. Just know I didn't start out this way.
I tend to be a bit more formal than my peers. I do live in a rural area in the southern U.S., so maybe other areas of the country or even state are different. But for the most part, I prefer a tidy home, generally company-ready at all times.
Our rooms are used for their intent. For example, we don't eat in the living room (unless it's family movie night), but at the table, all together, seated, until everyone is done. We sleep in our bedrooms. Baby plays in the playroom (no toys in his bedroom).
Granted, I know this is much easier for me than for others, as baby is an only child, and he's 8, and I'm home a lot to ensure this happens. But I do think it's possible for everyone to elevate their home lives even just one notch above what they currently are.
I get dressed every day and at least try to make my face and hair presentable. So does baby. Even though we homeschool, and may not go anywhere that day, and pajamas are more comfortable. Get up, dress up, show up.
We still have Jake's leather bachelor sofas because they still work, but I'm working on a plan to save up so I can replace them with something slightly more formal. I want guests to feel comfortable, and everyone wants to lay on the couch every once in a while, but I also want to subtly remind myself and my family that the living room is for living, and bedrooms are for lounging. And when I say more formal, I mean fancy looking from Ikea. Only one person at our house has a real job.
I cook most of our lunches and suppers, and we always eat on real plates. Using cloth napkins. I like to have pleasant aromas, whether from essential oil diffusers or candles. I hate overhead lighting so we use lamps. And often have music playing in the background.
I've adopted what I think (based on what I've read) is a slightly more European philosophy of home: use your best, make the informal formal, elevate the everyday, always be presentable. Life is an art, too, you know.
Do you have a philosophy on home life? Would you like to be more formal? Or does this all sound too uppity for your taste? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
I tend to be a bit more formal than my peers. I do live in a rural area in the southern U.S., so maybe other areas of the country or even state are different. But for the most part, I prefer a tidy home, generally company-ready at all times.
Our rooms are used for their intent. For example, we don't eat in the living room (unless it's family movie night), but at the table, all together, seated, until everyone is done. We sleep in our bedrooms. Baby plays in the playroom (no toys in his bedroom).
Granted, I know this is much easier for me than for others, as baby is an only child, and he's 8, and I'm home a lot to ensure this happens. But I do think it's possible for everyone to elevate their home lives even just one notch above what they currently are.
I get dressed every day and at least try to make my face and hair presentable. So does baby. Even though we homeschool, and may not go anywhere that day, and pajamas are more comfortable. Get up, dress up, show up.
We still have Jake's leather bachelor sofas because they still work, but I'm working on a plan to save up so I can replace them with something slightly more formal. I want guests to feel comfortable, and everyone wants to lay on the couch every once in a while, but I also want to subtly remind myself and my family that the living room is for living, and bedrooms are for lounging. And when I say more formal, I mean fancy looking from Ikea. Only one person at our house has a real job.
I cook most of our lunches and suppers, and we always eat on real plates. Using cloth napkins. I like to have pleasant aromas, whether from essential oil diffusers or candles. I hate overhead lighting so we use lamps. And often have music playing in the background.
I've adopted what I think (based on what I've read) is a slightly more European philosophy of home: use your best, make the informal formal, elevate the everyday, always be presentable. Life is an art, too, you know.
Do you have a philosophy on home life? Would you like to be more formal? Or does this all sound too uppity for your taste? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
a day in the life...
...because I know you were dying to know!
Lately I've been letting myself and son sleep until we feel like getting up, or until Jake wakes us up. So, like, 7. Jake makes breakfast for us during the week (he started that when we were first married for some reason, and I've just let him think it's his job now). I'm a fast eater so while the guys are finishing breakfast, I read aloud one chapter of whatever book we're currently reading aloud at breakfast every day. Then Jake leads a short family devotion.
After breakfast, baby boy practices piano while I generally try to get some exercise or spend time in prayer. Then we start school and go until lunch time. Or maybe we break for chores, or errands, or whatever. But lunch is usually around noon, and he's usually almost done with schoolwork by then.
Then comes quiet time. Moms, you HAVE to implement quiet time if you haven't already. Baby is too old for naps most days - he's 8 - but he's an extrovert and I'm an introvert, so if we skip quiet time, Mama's ears hurt and she gets cranky. Quiet time is until 2, unless we started late for some reason. So it's usually around an hour to an hour and a half long. He can read quietly on his bed, or listen to audiobooks, or occasionally play Legos (but I warn you: you might want to make a distinction between "quiet time" and "independent play", otherwise you'll be the designated playmate for the rest of the day). During quiet time I write, or work on a deep cleaning project, or spend time in prayer if I didn't earlier.
After quiet time, we finish school, chores, or errands. Maybe watch a show on Amazon Prime. Sidebar: I'm pretty strict with the screens. Currently the shows on our rotation are Andy Griffith, Roy Rogers, and MacGuyver. Since he's not in school he doesn't know those shows aren't cool, mwahahaha.
Jake usually gets home by 3 because his job is about 50% from home. He lifts weights in our basement every other day, so baby joins him down there to "lift weights" too (I think he watches dumb shows on YouTube but I have a don't ask/don't tell policy with that). This is when I read some more :) Or maybe engross myself in some sort of project.
I cook supper, we eat, we may play a game or watch a movie as a family - we don't do a show AND YouTube AND a movie all on the same day. He does have a limit - and baby's bedtime is at 8. Jake and I watch an episode of the Americans (um. It sounds like we watch so much TV. I promise we don't!) then head to bed. My bedtime is 9 so that's about all I can handle.
I figure I better explain more about the TV since now I'm paranoid. The rule for baby is roughly an hour a day of screen time. On days we run errands or for any other reason leave the house, we never get around to watching TV. Movie nights are usually reserved for the weekends. Jake and I do try to watch an episode of our show every other night, on average. But there are plenty of days when not one of us turns on the television all day.
And I don't know yet how I'll refer to my son on the blog, so for now he's baby. Because he's my baby, my only one, and I can.
I'd love to hear how other people spend their days. Do you watch more or less TV than you'd like? Are we ruining our kids with too much or too little screen time??
Lately I've been letting myself and son sleep until we feel like getting up, or until Jake wakes us up. So, like, 7. Jake makes breakfast for us during the week (he started that when we were first married for some reason, and I've just let him think it's his job now). I'm a fast eater so while the guys are finishing breakfast, I read aloud one chapter of whatever book we're currently reading aloud at breakfast every day. Then Jake leads a short family devotion.
After breakfast, baby boy practices piano while I generally try to get some exercise or spend time in prayer. Then we start school and go until lunch time. Or maybe we break for chores, or errands, or whatever. But lunch is usually around noon, and he's usually almost done with schoolwork by then.
Then comes quiet time. Moms, you HAVE to implement quiet time if you haven't already. Baby is too old for naps most days - he's 8 - but he's an extrovert and I'm an introvert, so if we skip quiet time, Mama's ears hurt and she gets cranky. Quiet time is until 2, unless we started late for some reason. So it's usually around an hour to an hour and a half long. He can read quietly on his bed, or listen to audiobooks, or occasionally play Legos (but I warn you: you might want to make a distinction between "quiet time" and "independent play", otherwise you'll be the designated playmate for the rest of the day). During quiet time I write, or work on a deep cleaning project, or spend time in prayer if I didn't earlier.
After quiet time, we finish school, chores, or errands. Maybe watch a show on Amazon Prime. Sidebar: I'm pretty strict with the screens. Currently the shows on our rotation are Andy Griffith, Roy Rogers, and MacGuyver. Since he's not in school he doesn't know those shows aren't cool, mwahahaha.
Jake usually gets home by 3 because his job is about 50% from home. He lifts weights in our basement every other day, so baby joins him down there to "lift weights" too (I think he watches dumb shows on YouTube but I have a don't ask/don't tell policy with that). This is when I read some more :) Or maybe engross myself in some sort of project.
I cook supper, we eat, we may play a game or watch a movie as a family - we don't do a show AND YouTube AND a movie all on the same day. He does have a limit - and baby's bedtime is at 8. Jake and I watch an episode of the Americans (um. It sounds like we watch so much TV. I promise we don't!) then head to bed. My bedtime is 9 so that's about all I can handle.
I figure I better explain more about the TV since now I'm paranoid. The rule for baby is roughly an hour a day of screen time. On days we run errands or for any other reason leave the house, we never get around to watching TV. Movie nights are usually reserved for the weekends. Jake and I do try to watch an episode of our show every other night, on average. But there are plenty of days when not one of us turns on the television all day.
And I don't know yet how I'll refer to my son on the blog, so for now he's baby. Because he's my baby, my only one, and I can.
I'd love to hear how other people spend their days. Do you watch more or less TV than you'd like? Are we ruining our kids with too much or too little screen time??
Thursday, May 17, 2018
who do I think I am?
I mean, I'm definitely no expert at homemaking, that's for sure. But what even qualifies me to write about it?
Nothing.
So now that we've gotten that out of the way, I'll give you the abridged version of my journey to today.
I grew up, went to college, moved home, started working. Met a hunk. Got married at 24 and moved straight from my parents' house to my husband's house. Never lived on my own (unless you count a dorm room).
A couple of months into marriage, we felt convicted that the company I was working for was handling itself unethically and I needed to get out right then. Only, how could we afford that? We prayed, looked at our budget, cut back all our expenses to the bare bone, and came up with an amount I would need to earn. Had an interview with a friend's parents who own a business, and they could offer me only two and a half days per week, making EXACTLY the amount we had come up with.
That's what I consider the beginning of my career as a homemaker. When I was working full time, my Jake (that's the hunk) and I often worked different schedules, so we didn't do much eating together or anything like that. Only when I was home during the week (my new job was on weekends) did I begin to figure out how to do wifey stuff.
Plus, I kind of had to figure it out. We had no money now, remember? So I learned to cook, make my own cleaning supplies, coupon (don't do that anymore, don't worry), and feed a giant weightlifting man on a measly grocery budget. We turned pretty green around then too, thanks to the needing to make everything myself and reusing as much as possible.
That was almost six years ago, and I've fallen in love with domesticity. Not all the time - duh. There are many days I'd rather binge watch something - anything - than clean. But I really mean things like centering our lives around home, and hospitality, and decorating, and enjoying all of that.
Now: who do you think you are? Don't take that the wrong way. Just introduce yourself :)
Nothing.
So now that we've gotten that out of the way, I'll give you the abridged version of my journey to today.
I grew up, went to college, moved home, started working. Met a hunk. Got married at 24 and moved straight from my parents' house to my husband's house. Never lived on my own (unless you count a dorm room).
A couple of months into marriage, we felt convicted that the company I was working for was handling itself unethically and I needed to get out right then. Only, how could we afford that? We prayed, looked at our budget, cut back all our expenses to the bare bone, and came up with an amount I would need to earn. Had an interview with a friend's parents who own a business, and they could offer me only two and a half days per week, making EXACTLY the amount we had come up with.
That's what I consider the beginning of my career as a homemaker. When I was working full time, my Jake (that's the hunk) and I often worked different schedules, so we didn't do much eating together or anything like that. Only when I was home during the week (my new job was on weekends) did I begin to figure out how to do wifey stuff.
Plus, I kind of had to figure it out. We had no money now, remember? So I learned to cook, make my own cleaning supplies, coupon (don't do that anymore, don't worry), and feed a giant weightlifting man on a measly grocery budget. We turned pretty green around then too, thanks to the needing to make everything myself and reusing as much as possible.
That was almost six years ago, and I've fallen in love with domesticity. Not all the time - duh. There are many days I'd rather binge watch something - anything - than clean. But I really mean things like centering our lives around home, and hospitality, and decorating, and enjoying all of that.
Now: who do you think you are? Don't take that the wrong way. Just introduce yourself :)
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
hi
"La maison comme un art" means "home as an art." And that's what I'm striving for. I am, primarily, a homemaker, and I know that's like way outdated, but I love it. LOVE it. The stay-at-home mom bit is tough, for sure; but the homemaking? Much easier.
So that's what I'm here to talk about - with a dash of parenting, a pinch of homeschooling, and maybe a shake or two of budgeting.
I read lots of books - I mean, lots - so of course I've read several about finding your life's purpose, creating your personal mission statement, 5- and 10-year plans, etc. I've come to realize that I truly desire to encourage women (new wives? new moms? you?) to find joy in homemaking. You have to do it anyway, so you might as well enjoy it.
And no, I don't mean just women who stay home with their kids, or dogs, or television sets, but all women. Because they are usually the ones in charge of domestic affairs in a family. It can be a beautiful occupation (or second occupation, or third, or whatever) if we let it. And why not let it? As a bonus, we can bless our families with our love for and attention to our home lives. Even if that family consists of you and your stuffed animal collection.
I also happen to be a homeschool mom and pretty frugal budgeter, so those naturally come into play in my own home life. I'm also a former foster mom and an adoptive mom. And I have a chronic illness. Most importantly, I'm a follower of Jesus. Who knows what may appear on this blog!
I've evolved as a homemaker over the past several years and I hope that will continue to happen. But overall, what I want you to take away from this little hello, is this: creating a home that embraces you and all you love is a valuable art. It's worth it. You are worth it. Home can be your art.
So that's what I'm here to talk about - with a dash of parenting, a pinch of homeschooling, and maybe a shake or two of budgeting.
I read lots of books - I mean, lots - so of course I've read several about finding your life's purpose, creating your personal mission statement, 5- and 10-year plans, etc. I've come to realize that I truly desire to encourage women (new wives? new moms? you?) to find joy in homemaking. You have to do it anyway, so you might as well enjoy it.
And no, I don't mean just women who stay home with their kids, or dogs, or television sets, but all women. Because they are usually the ones in charge of domestic affairs in a family. It can be a beautiful occupation (or second occupation, or third, or whatever) if we let it. And why not let it? As a bonus, we can bless our families with our love for and attention to our home lives. Even if that family consists of you and your stuffed animal collection.
I also happen to be a homeschool mom and pretty frugal budgeter, so those naturally come into play in my own home life. I'm also a former foster mom and an adoptive mom. And I have a chronic illness. Most importantly, I'm a follower of Jesus. Who knows what may appear on this blog!
I've evolved as a homemaker over the past several years and I hope that will continue to happen. But overall, what I want you to take away from this little hello, is this: creating a home that embraces you and all you love is a valuable art. It's worth it. You are worth it. Home can be your art.
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